by Sue MacKay
‘Jonty let me in. He’s popped home for a moment.’
Despite the chill settling over her due to all that wetness, warmth eased through her body, touching her tummy, her toes, her face. He might be too lean for her taste, but her body didn’t seem to care if the way it responded when she looked at him was an indicator. His face was gaunt, as if he needed feeding up. But those eyes were what really caught at her. Piercing, yet guarded, while also holding a hint of humour and compassion. A disturbing mix.
Oh, man, this was so wrong. The guy should come with a warning label. Don’t come near unless you hold all the aces. She was short on aces today. Worse, she couldn’t stop staring.
Tall... Okay, anyone was tall compared to her. Oh, and he had the most gorgeous crop of overlong black hair, while his day-old stubble made her mouth water.
‘Karina, I want my clothes!’ Mickey yelled.
‘Coming,’ she called back, far more quietly.
‘I’ll wait for you in the kitchen,’ her distracting visitor told her. ‘Want me to make that hot chocolate I heard you mention?’
‘With marshmallows, ta.’
He was already acting as if he lived here. She shrugged. Get over it. Logan Pascale owned half the place; he could come and go as he pleased. Was that good or bad? That warmth he’d engendered evaporated, leaving her shivering with cold and apprehension as she opened drawers to find Mickey some clothes.
Logan did hold all the aces. He wanted to sell the place she’d made her home and had believed she’d live in for many years to come. He had as much right to make decisions about the property and Mickey’s future as she did. But had he even heard of joint decisions? Her sigh was filled with annoyance and frustration of the most irritating kind. If he thought selling up would help his nephew’s cause then he didn’t know damn all about Mickey.
But of course he didn’t. Visiting briefly once a year meant he hardly knew his nephew. Hadn’t seen the day-to-day growing up stuff, didn’t know what he liked and hated, wouldn’t understand how the Down syndrome affected him.
No doubt Logan intended getting things done fast so he could fly away again, leaving her to cope with the mess he’d created.
Well, think again, Pascale. I’m made of stronger stuff. You won’t get away with it. I’ve grown a backbone because of men like you. Men who charm women out of their three-inch-high shoes all because they have a hidden agenda.
CHAPTER TWO
LOGAN DRAGGED HIS eyes forward and headed to the kitchen. His mouth twisted into a tight smile. He might have stopped staring at that bundle of unbridled energy, but her image still seared his brain. Her small body, with those clothes moulded to each and every curve, those enormous eyes the colour of the hot drinks he was about to make blinking out of that elfin face.
From the little he knew about her he understood that she’d walked away from an extremely comfortable life and all that entailed. He certainly hadn’t been expecting to be surprised by her energy for life. When he’d first seen Karina carrying on in the driveway, before Mickey had joined her, he’d thought she was a teenager playing hooky from school, not the qualified nurse taking care of his nephew.
He’d felt a delicious shock when he’d realised those curves certainly didn’t belong to a teenager, but instead to an all-grown-up woman. A very tempting grown-up woman. It wasn’t difficult to imagine running his hands over that body. Damn it. He couldn’t afford to get sidetracked, even for a few hours. He might have been living the life of a monk lately, but that would have to continue at least while he visited Motueka and sorted out Mickey’s future—starting with making arrangements to sell this place.
‘Kar—ina, where are you? I’m ready.’
Did Mickey ever talk in fewer decibels than a jet on take-off?
‘Coming, kiddo.’
At least Karina replied quietly, in a soft, almost caressing tone.
Caressing. As in stroking, touching...
Logan stomped through to the kitchen, where everything appeared spotless. Nothing like what he was used to in the over-used, under-tidied kitchens of Nigeria, where all energy went into helping people rather than putting things away in cupboards only so that someone could remove them again moments later. This was kind of a nice change. Homey.
Whoa. They were going to sell this place. Getting comfortable and cosy wasn’t an option.
He had no difficulty finding chocolate to go into the milk he’d put on to heat. A stack of bars stood right beside the tin of drinking chocolate powder in the pantry, along with packets of marshmallows. He popped a marshmallow in his mouth as he stirred the milk, savouring the sweet burst of flavour on his tongue.
Karina bounced into the small space, using up what little air there was, bumping him with her elbows or hips every time she moved—which was constantly. While those curves were now hidden under trousers and a chambray shirt, he knew they were there. Her hair was damp and curls were beginning to fly, adding to that waif-like appearance.
‘Will you look at that?’ She nodded in the direction of the window. ‘It’s already stopped raining. Put on for my benefit, was it?’ She came closer and peered into the pot. ‘Looking good. Pour Mickey’s before it gets too hot. He doesn’t like waiting for it to cool.’
Trying to ignore the scent of roses and damp hair wafting around her, Logan reached for the mug she held out. ‘Sure. He’s grown heaps since I was last here.’ Concentrate on Mickey and the perfume will eventually evaporate. He hoped.
‘Kids do tend to grow and change quite a bit in a year.’ She placed two more mugs on the bench. ‘I presume you’re joining us in our hot chocolate moment?’
‘Might as well.’
There hadn’t been a hint of sting in her words, and yet the guilt they caused tightened his gut enough to ache. He hadn’t been the best uncle, or brother, over the years. He knew that more than anyone.
‘I would’ve been back nearly two months ago except for an exceptional circumstance.’
Why justify himself to this woman? It was none of her business. Except...
‘I’m sorry you’ve had to shoulder all the responsibility for Mickey since James and Maria died.’ Not to mention the medical centre that had been James’s pride and joy, and had seemed too dull to him.
She shrugged. ‘No worries.’
‘Understatement your thing, is it?’
This house had had more than its share of problems due to lack of maintenance over the years. The lawyers had made sure he knew about every last fault. At least that was something he could, and would, fix. He had an appointment at two o’clock to talk to a real estate agent and get the property on the market. Getting it up to scratch was part of his agenda over the next few weeks.
‘Not that I’m aware.’ Karina opened a tin from the pantry and placed some cookies on a plate. ‘I’m sorry you missed the funeral. We held off as long as possible, but no one could track you down.’
Wow, she had a way of ramping up the guilt without even trying. His gut wanted to regurgitate that marshmallow.
‘There are often days—weeks in the rainy season—when all contact with the outside world is lost.’ He wasn’t going to mention that, where he’d been at that critical time, contact with anyone had been impossible.
A small hand rested on his forearm, orange-tipped fingers splaying lightly on his shirtsleeve. Each fingertip was a heat source, tripping through his chilled body and reminding him of easier times. Carefree times.
She said quietly, ‘I wasn’t having a poke at you. I understand the difficulties. James mentioned how hard it could be to get hold of you in Nigeria.’
If only the reason had been that simple. His eyes locked with hers, saw nothing but genuine sympathy there. Sympathy that should be tightening his shoulders and making him prove he didn’t need it but was instead undermining his determ
ination to remain aloof and do what was needed as quickly as possible before he headed back to a world he understood.
But he didn’t understand it. Not any more. Strange how the easy look in Karina’s eyes made him long for a break, here, in this quiet town where people really were safe. To be able to take each day slowly, get his body back in shape, his head thinking straight, and to get to know his nephew. Time even to get to know Karina Brown.
Jerking his arm away, he snapped, ‘If it had been at all possible to get here I would’ve.’ He drew in a deep breath, tried for calm. ‘But it wasn’t possible.’
If he’d stepped one foot outside his prison hut his body would have been riddled with bullets and he’d have been left to the flies and the vultures.
Hot milk splashed on the bench as he poured the liquid into the mugs.
Karina deftly wiped up the spill before dropping two marshmallows on top of each drink. ‘Mickey, sit up at the table. You can have one cookie before lunch.’
She perched on a chair beside the boy, holding her mug in both hands, her gaze thoughtful. Was she trying to believe he’d been telling the truth?
‘How did you get on at the bank?’ he asked, in an attempt to distract her from his apparent failings as an uncle.
‘How did you know that’s where I was?’ She shifted on her chair, began twisting the mug back and forth between her hands.
‘Jonty mentioned it when I introduced myself.’
‘That surprises me.’ She sighed, then stood up abruptly. ‘I’d better go see if I’m needed before surgery closes for lunch. Keep an eye on Mickey, will you?’
Oh, no, you don’t.
Logan cut off her mad dash by taking her arm and holding on until she turned to look up at him. ‘I’ve been over there. Everything’s under control.’
‘You checked up on my surgery?’
Could those eyes get any bigger? ‘Isn’t it our surgery?’ he asked quietly. ‘I wasn’t checking up on anything. I was introducing myself.’
The air hissed over her bottom lip as she sagged in on herself. Pulling her arm away, she dropped onto the chair she’d hurriedly vacated.
‘Yes, I went to the bank. No, they won’t lend me the money I need to buy you out. Any further questions?’ she snapped.
He lifted out another chair, flicked it around to straddle it, and folded his arms over the top. ‘Why do you want to buy me out? Doesn’t it make sense to sell this rambling old place, with its huge grounds, and buy a new, comfortable, easily kept home?’
‘No. It. Doesn’t.’
The words fell like heavy weights between them.
‘This is Mickey’s home, the place where he remembers his mum and dad. I will not take him away from here. He gets upset enough as it is some days.’
‘I see.’
‘Do you?’ Those perfectly shaped eyebrows lifted. ‘What about the surgery? If we sell the house, where’s that going to be relocated?’
‘I’d have thought that’d be the last thing you’d want to be bothered with. I know you struggle to keep a GP full-time.’
She could have told him what he already knew, that she’d managed with locums so far. But she didn’t. Instead she went for his throat. ‘Unless you have plans to take over?’
Logan stood up so fast the chair knocked against the table. ‘Are you out of your mind?’
Him? Working in a small town, dealing with the everyday stuff of colds and stomach bugs and high blood pressure? Signing on for ever?
‘That would not work. Believe me.’
He strode over to stare out of the window onto the drive, with its hole that needed repairing, and swore silently. Not in a million years. He wanted to be with people who had no choices, who were forever grateful for any little help they got. People who came and went so quickly they didn’t cling to his life.
Mickey banged his empty mug on the table. ‘I want to play with Mr Grumpy.’
Karina didn’t move, almost as though she hadn’t heard Mickey. Even if the neighbours probably had.
Logan turned. ‘Who’s Mr Grumpy?’
‘He teaches me things.’ Mickey slid off the chair and picked up his mug to bang it on the bench. ‘Doesn’t he, Karina?’
‘Yes, he does, sweetheart.’ She stood up. ‘And I should’ve changed Jonty’s dressing before now.’
Definitely looking for an excuse to escape him.
‘Can it wait a few more minutes and I’ll come with you?’ When she looked at him with astonishment, he hastened to add, ‘I take it Jonty and Mr Grumpy are one and the same.’
Karina’s lips twitched. And sent his hormones into a little spasm. She really was seriously distracting.
She told him, ‘Yes.’ And then, turning to Mickey, said, ‘Mr Grumpy should be in the potting shed, planting the tomato seeds. If he’s not you come straight back here and we’ll find him together. Okay?’ She held her hand up, palm out.
Mickey high-fived it. ‘Okey-dokey, hokey-pokey.’
Logan watched his nephew racing from the room and felt his heart stir just a tiny bit. Having Down syndrome wasn’t holding the kid back from enjoying himself.
‘Does he understand fully what happened to his parents?’
Sadness filled Karina’s eyes. ‘As much as a kid his age can. Sometimes he asks when Daddy’s coming home from work, or if Mummy’s going to make his dinner. There are nights when I find him crying into his pillow. But then I’ve found him doing that when he’s lost his favourite toy, so I could be completely wrong and he hasn’t got a clue why he now lives with me.’
‘From what my parents told me, you had a lot to do with him before the accident.’
Not a stranger, like him. Guilt raised its head again. Mickey hadn’t remembered him this morning. No surprise, considering he’d been about three the last time Logan had flown in for a quick visit. Thank goodness James had had the good sense to make Karina joint guardian with him. Even if she wasn’t family in any DNA kind of way, the boy had a firm constant in his life and wasn’t coping with a man who preferred working and living in exotic places. Make that who had used to prefer.
Mickey needed security—he needed the same people in his life day in and day out, to see the same kids at playgroup every time he went. He certainly wouldn’t get that tagging along with his uncle to desolate places on the African continent. Besides, that wasn’t an option after what had happened on his last tour. Far too dangerous.
Karina spoke quietly. ‘I’d been working here for a few months when the accident happened.’ She blinked furiously. ‘Mickey and I were great mates even then.’
‘Coming from Auckland to such a small place must’ve taken some getting used to.’
‘It was refreshing.’ She picked at a spot on the table. ‘Maria and I met in Auckland while doing our nursing training and became firm friends. Inseparable at times.’
She raised those beautiful eyes to his face and the sadness spilling out made him want to wrap her up in his arms and hold her tight.
He didn’t. Because he mightn’t be able to let her go. Because he needed to be held, too. Because he should have been here for Mickey, and even for Karina.
‘You were Maria’s bridesmaid. I vaguely recall a wedding photo.’
‘Hardly a bridesmaid when those two went out to lunch and came back married. They dragged me along, saying they had a surprise.’
‘There was a guy there as well.’
‘The law requires two witnesses.’
The words were flat. Her face had gone blank, her eyes expressionless.
The devil got hold of his tongue. ‘Who was he? I didn’t recognise him as one of James’s friends.’
He’d recently gone weeks without talking to anyone, bar demanding to be freed, and since then he’d apparently lost the ability to be circ
umspect.
‘My ex-husband.’
Never had he heard so much emotion in two little words. Anger, disappointment, despair, hurt, and a whole lot more. Something beyond his shoulder seemed to fascinate her for a long, drawn-out moment. Then she blinked.
‘We split very suddenly and I wanted a change of environment. Staying on in Auckland no longer worked for me.’ She continued spilling her guts. ‘About that time Maria decided to be a stay-at-home mum and asked me to fill her place at the surgery. I think she made that up, because she’d been managing very nicely until then. But I arrived here within days and I’m not likely to leave again.’
‘Only now you’ve got a wee boy.’
And a big heart. She didn’t appear to be struggling with everything she did, and yet her days had to be close to chaotic at times—especially given that Mickey needed a lot of attention with his condition.
‘A boy I’d do anything for.’
He got the message loud and clear. Don’t mess with Karina. Or Mickey.
‘So what do you do for a social life in Motueka?’ Might as well ask anything that came into his brain while he had her talking.
Karina shrugged. ‘Friday night drinks at a bar on High Street with a friend is more than enough for me. As I’ve no intention of marrying again I’m not joining the dating circuit.’
Unbelievably honest.
‘I can understand that.’
Way too much information, Logan. He knew from the slight widening of her eyes that she’d read between the lines of his simple statement and understood he was as uninterested in finding a soul mate as she was. He’d seen far too many relationships bite the dust in Africa. Commitment to the health organisation left little time for anyone or anything else.
Karina said, ‘You want to sell this place?’
She was forthright. He’d give her that.
‘Yes.’
He’d be the same.
‘Why?’
‘I’ve seen the builder’s report the lawyers have had done. This place needs major repairs and maintenance, which won’t come cheap—especially for a property nearly eighty years old. A comfortable house with no financial worries for you seems a good idea. Though what you’d do for jumping puddles I’m not sure,’ he added, forcing a smile.
